Building B.C.’s Skilled Trades Workforce

Recently the BC government made a $5 million provincial investment to help more people access new and enhanced resources and programming to support entering the trades and to help complete their apprenticeships.

CHBA BC is a proud partner in advancing the skilled trades as a career of choice having received $1 million in funding which will enable us to create and execute a range of programs and initiatives throughout British Columbia, with the primary aim of providing supportive training, highlighting and advancing well-paid career opportunities in the skilled trades.

The provincial investment will also help remove barriers to entering the trades or completing apprenticeships for women, Indigenous people and other underrepresented groups, with new and enhanced programming and resources for equity serving groups, anti-racism and other inclusivity-based workplace training programs and student bursaries.

READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Quick Facts

• There are over 80 skilled trade occupations, with more than half with Red Seal endorsements. Skilled trades occupations in demand in B.C. include cooks, automotive service technicians and electricians.

• There are 84,900 job openings for tradespeople expected over the next 10 years; the number of apprentices who complete their training averages just over 6,400 a year.

• 50.6% of people between 15 and 65 in B.C. are women; 10.1% of all apprentices in B.C. are women.

• 13.3% of people between 15 and 65 in B.C. are Indigenous; 8.5% of all apprentices in B.C. are Indigenous, and 1.5% are Indigenous women.